#MovieFailMondays: Planet of the Apes
Every week we bring you a new movie that teaches us about a logical fallacy you’ll find on the LSAT. Who says Netflix can’t help you study?
Originally scripted by Rod “I don’t have a nickname because you should know who I am” Serling, Planet of the Apes is the tale of when a group of astronauts stop being polite and start getting killed by walking, talking apes.
After launching into space and (plot hole explained by “science”), four astronauts crash on a desolate planet. After marching through the desert and finding an oasis, primitive humans steal their clothes and apes hunt them down. Some are killed, some are captured, and Charlton Heston is rendered speechless when a bullet grazes his throat.
The surviving astronauts are brought back to a civilization of intelligent apes, organized in a caste system. Gorillas are the heavies and laborers; orangutans the bureaucrats and priests; and chimps the scientists. No mention of the stately gibbon.
While recovering, some of the apes begin to see that Charlton Heston is intelligent (hey, this is sci-fi, after all!) and begin to question the ape society’s treatment of the primitive humans. There’s a struggle, some songs, and then Troy McClure discovers that the Planet of the Apes was (#SPOILERALERT) Earth all along!
Alright, I may have confused the Simpsons episode with the actual movie at the end there.
The film’s twist ending – that the astronauts landed on Earth in the distant future – made use of a comparison fallacy to hide the surprise.
Arguments on the LSAT will often compare or contrast two items on one metric, and then say that they’re similar/different on another metric. Here, the hierarchy of species (apes as smart, humans as primitive) is different than the Earth we’re used to. The film takes this difference and makes the audience believe that, therefore, the planet the movie takes place on is different (the title of the movie helps sell that illusion, as well). However, just because there’s one difference doesn’t mean that everything is different. Especially when time has gone past.
On the LSAT, whenever an argument bases its conclusion on comparing two things, make sure that the comparison is complete. Just because apes run the planet doesn’t mean that it’s a new planet. And check the timeline – if the argument takes truths from the past to prove the future, we’ve got a Dr. Zaius-sized problem on our hands.
Your #MovieFailMonday LSAT practice questions to try:
PT18, S4, Q18
PT29, S1, Q5
PT29, S1, Q20
PT51, S3, Q3
PT52, S1, Q12
PT52, S1, Q20
PT52, S1, Q21
PT52, S3, Q19
PT53, S1, Q8
PT54, S4, Q20
Matt Shinners is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in New York City. After receiving a science degree from Boston College, Matt scored a 180 on his LSAT and enrolled in Harvard Law School. There’s nothing that makes him happier than seeing his students receive the scores they want to get into the schools of their choice. Check out Matt’s upcoming LSAT courses here!